


Final Fantasy 7: A Novelization

by Count24



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: F/M, Gen, Materia will work a bit different, Novelization
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:02:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25405843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Count24/pseuds/Count24
Summary: This is something of a labor of love for me. I've always enjoyed the Final Fantasy series of games, and while 8 is still my all time favorite, 7 is still in second place. And as I've already found a great novelization of 8, I chose to do one of 7.Feel free to let me know if you spot any errors, or see something I could improve on in the retelling of this classic tale.
Relationships: Undecided
Kudos: 1





	1. The First Reactor

**Author's Note:**

> This is something of a labor of love for me. I've always enjoyed the Final Fantasy series of games, and while 8 is still my all time favorite, 7 is still in second place. And as I've already found a great novelization of 8, I chose to do one of 7.
> 
> Feel free to let me know if you spot any errors, or see something I could improve on in the retelling of this classic tale.

The smell of rust and oil filled Cloud’s nostrils. The wind from the train’s passage whipped at his hair, although thanks to the effect of the tank, it moved only slightly. That was one of the few things he had found that he was not grateful for about that time. Before he had become a Soldier, his hair had been soft, and a few girls had enjoyed running their fingers through it. Now it was almost as stiff as bone. At least it was still the bright yellow blonde he had inherited from his mother.

He still didn’t understand why he was riding on top of the train, when the rest of the team he was working with were inside. However, he’d been hired to do a job, and now that he was no longer with Soldier, he couldn’t count on a regular paycheck. Food wouldn’t buy itself for him, and it wasn’t like either the wind or the smell were new.

Lost in his contemplations, Cloud didn’t notice the great city of Midgar rolling along beneath the iron behemoth until it came to a stop at the entrance to the reactor complex. Below, the first two of the Avalanche team leapt from the train, landing neatly on the guards, knocking them unconscious before they had a chance to react.

This group confused him. They were a ragtag team, and only one seemed to have any actual training. Biggs, skinny almost frail looking, but with an air of steel about him. From the way he wore his gear, neatly packed away into individual pockets, which were littered about his person, he was either naturally fastidious, or had gone through some form of training to be so careful with his gear.

Opposite him was Wedge. The man was a bit too boisterous, and large to be entirely professional. Like someone had taken the worst physical traits for a soldier to have, and stuffed a child's overeagerness into them. Then dressed them up as a guerilla fighter. Something that perhaps an average person could appreciate, but for Cloud he was too naive, too loud.

And then there was Jesse, the only female in the group. She acted professional, but was too cautious with her gear. As though it scared her to be carrying a gun. She fought well, but stiffly, as though she had been professionally trained, but never actually used the skill. Cloud supposed that if he weren’t pushing everything but the job to the side, she would be pretty, but he hardly had time to think about that.

And the last of them, their leader, and the man who had hired Cloud. Barret. A massive dark skinned man whose right arm had been replaced at some point with a very big gun. He was an odd mix of characteristics. He’d been brusque, even cold during the initial negotiations with Cloud, and then turned around to become warm and friendly with his team. In the early parts of the trip up here to the reactor, he’d fluctuated between excitement and dour pessimism, as though he was unable to decide if he thought things would go well or poorly.

Cloud admitted to himself that he was worried about their chances. The goal was up there with the toughests jobs he’d ever had to do while working for Shinra, and while he was certain he was capable of doing his part, which was mainly just to get them inside, through the guards. He was less certain of the rest of this team.

With the first few guards out of the way, Cloud’s job was easy. There were no more here, so all he had to do was watch and wait. As Jesse began to work the electronic lock he thought back on the day before when he’d stumbled into Barrett.

***

Cloud held up the scrap of paper which claimed someone was willing to pay for a willing fighter to assist with a job. It said to meet the contact here in the trainyard of the sector 7 slums.

Looking around he easily identified the one person in the yard that didn’t belong. The massive black man with his arm hidden inside a scrap of cloth stood out like a sore thumb.

The negotiation was brief and soon he was being introduced to the others. After that they had put him up at a ramshackle motel for the night, and come morning they began the trip here.

***

Jesse smiled in triumph as the door slid open. At last they were going to do something real, something big. Behind her Barret called for them to get moving and recalling her instruction in dance she rose gracefully to her feet, already moving forward.

Biggs and Wedge fell into step as she ran for the next checkpoint. They were in luck, no guards got in their way as they moved.

At the door, Barret turned to look over the Ex-Soldier. “Still not sure I trust you. You just remember, I’ve got my eye on you, soldier boy.”

Cloud raised an eyebrow as the large man turned to follow his team. Deciding he was most likely on his own, he followed along, taking out the few guards who came out to see what was going on. They were slow, and not really a threat. Barret must have gotten lucky and picked a night when the guard was on the low end of its rotation.

Once they were inside, and stopped once more, waiting for Jesse to get the next door open, Barret turned to address the spiky haired ex soldier. “This your first time in a reactor?”

Cloud had to fight to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. That was a truly stupid question in his opinion. “No, I used to work for Shinra after all.” He was surprised at how well he managed to maintain a calm voice, He hadn’t actually been trained in acting.

Then the large man started what sounded like a well rehearsed, if passionate speech that Cloud was almost able to tune out as he checked corners for cameras, and watched for approaching guards.

“The planet’s full of Mako energy. People here use it everyday” His voice rose in volume as he continued, and Cloud clenched his fists at the likelihood of someone overhearing. It’s the lifeblood of this planet. But Shinra keeps suckin’ the blood out with these weird machines.”

Weird machines? Cloud just kept the incredulous look off his face. The man didn’t even know enough about them to use proper terminology. Or else he was using simple words for some other reason, perhaps to separate himself from them even more, or possibly he thought Cloud was an idiot.

That thought cracked Cloud’s exterior enough to get a response though. “I’m not here for a lecture.” His voice was dry, as emotionless as he could manage. He didn’t like being talked down to, but he was trying to be professional. “Let’s just do it.”

Barret growled. “Alright fine. But you stick close to me.” At that moment the door slid open, and the large man waved for Cloud to follow him.

Much to Cloud’s displeasure their next stop was an elevator. By itself that wasn’t a problem, but the fact that they were forced to simply ride meant that Barret got to continue his lecture, and Cloud had no choice but to listen to the man drone about his feelings.

“Little by little the reactors’ll drain out all the life. Then that’ll be that.” And it was clear from the tone of his voice and the set of his jaw that this was a rant he had made many times. He was speaking from his heart, which while commendable most of the time, was a terrible idea while on the job. Speaking like that was a good way to get your team killed.

Hoping that he could head off the unprofessional behavior, Cloud spoke. “It’s not my problem.”

Which was clearly the wrong thing to say to get the man to calm down, or at least lower his voice. Barret shook all over his arms rising until they were suspended over his head, as he nearly bellowed. “The planet’s dyin’ Cloud!”

Still hoping to bring his employer down to a manageable level of emotional control, Cloud tried again. “The only thing I care about is finishing this job before security and the roboguards come.”

That seemed to work, as after only a brief shake of his fist, Barret went silent and simply stared at the elevator doors. Which opened a moment later.

Now they were inside the reactor proper, the path became a maze of ladders, ramps and incomplete walkways. Cloud shook his head at the inconsistency of the design. Shinra had for whatever reason designed each reactor differently, and none of them, he thought, had ever been fully constructed.

At the heart of the reactor though, it was always the same. A pool of glowing liquid, Mako, with dozens of pipes leading down into it, feeding the Mako up into the reactor itself. A large engine which sat just above the pool.

Cloud had never bothered to learn exactly how the things worked, it wasn’t really important to him anyway. And was well outside the role of a Soldier, even a first class one as he had been.

Standing in front of the reactor though, gave him a chill, just as it always did. He shook the feeling away though as Barret commented. “When we blow this place, it ain’t gonna be nothin’ more than a hunka junk.” Then he said something utterly inexplicable. “Cloud, you set the bomb.”

Once more, Cloud was forced to keep the incredulity from his voice. “Shouldn’t you be doing that?” He asked, already certain of what the answer would be.

Sure enough, Barret snarled. “Jus’ do it. I gotta watch to make sure you don’t pull nothin’.”

It was an effort not to shake his head, but Cloud hadn’t been a soldier for nothing. And after a moment’s contemplation he thought he might understand. If the bomb required any sort of fiddling to activate, Barret might have some difficulty managing with only one hand. With that thought in mind, he nodded. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

Accepting the explosives, he stepped up to the machine. The device was simple enough, no fine control needed. Maybe the big man was actually testing his willingness to follow orders. Mentally, Cloud shrugged and shoved the bomb into place underneath the hood of the reactor as he pushed the button to start the timer.

And that apparently was the cue for the automated defenses to start up. Cloud mentally kicked himself. He must have missed something. A camera, a guard, something. But there was no time to worry about it now. They had ten minutes to get out of the reactor, and before they could even start moving. And there was a giant roboguard, designed after a scorpion, blocking their way.

“Watch out for the tail!” Cloud yelled to Barret as he rushed forward. The thing was only just starting up. If he could hit one of the joints before the plating moved into place it would be a lot easier to deal with this thing.

Behind him, he heard the barrels of Barret’s gun begin to spin up. A heartbeat later, bullets were ripping past him to tear into the armor of the giant robotic scorpion. Holding in his desire to curse at the man, Cloud jigged to the side. The first hail of bullets had missed him, but only by a small margin and he didn’t want to remain in Barret’s line of fire. He didn’t trust the man to have good fire discipline.

Reaching up he pulled the buster sword from the magnetic clasp at his shoulder. Specially designed for Soldier, this heavy blade could cut through almost anything. A four and a half foot blade, with another two feet of hilt, the thing nearly dwarfed Cloud himself, who barely reached six foot. The most impressive thing about it though was the blades girth. A foot and half wide, and almost two inches thick along the back, it was nonetheless honed to razor sharpness, and thanks to being forged inside a Mako reactor was practically indestructible, and would keep its edge through even the most trying of conditions.

The blade whistled through the air as Cloud swung. Biting into the mechanics of one of the leg joints just before the plating moved into place. Crippling the bot. Though regrettably, not enough for the thing to actually stop. He’d slowed it, which would help them stay alive long enough to fight the thing, but so far from its CPU he could do no more than that.

Barret had not been idle of course. While Cloud had rushed forward, the big man had taken a step back, bringing his minigun online. While not nearly as top of the line as he would like, he’d carried this thing for years. Ever since the accident.

He shook his head to clear it of those thoughts. He may not be a professional like the Ex-Soldier turned mercenary, but he knew that he couldn’t afford to get distracted on the field. Watch the tail, Cloud had yelled before he ran up to swing that enormous sword into its leg. Well, Barret could do better than that. Or at least he could if the thing turned a bit. From this angle he could barely even see its tail. So he aimed for the optics instead. Great rule in any situation, if you can’t see, you can’t fight.

Bullets bit into what he had identified as the ‘face’ of the roboscorpion, and what he assumed to be its optical sensors. And for the first time in a long while he remembered why he had chosen a weapon that accentuated rate of fire over power. Sure he might be able to do more damage with a single shot from a heavier gun, but when fifty some odd rounds struck home per second, it didn’t really matter. It took only a few seconds though to realize that the plating around the face was too thick, he was barely scratching it, and the few rounds that managed to strike the optics looked like they barely did anything. That was the downside of his choice. While he could get a stream of bullets to hit where he wanted, individual rounds tended to skew all over the target area. And when the target was moving, it got even worse.

Then it happened, the tail came up in an arch over the things back. Just as Barret began to wonder why it would do that, something hit him from the side. He almost didn’t recognise that it was Cloud. The mercenary barrelled him over and behind a bit of fallen debris just as the tail let loose with a powerful laser. It struck the ground where he’d been standing a moment before and the heavy steel catwalk was vaporized. If he’d still been there. Barret gulped. “Thanks mate.” He was pleased that his voice didn’t waver, but wished it had been a little bit louder.

“No worries.” Cloud replied, reaching into a pocket. “That armor is too thick, we’re not gonna get through it and still get out before the bomb goes. Do you know how to use materia?” He held up a softly glowing green orb, about the size of a marble.

Barret spat. “Hell no, you think I can afford that shit?”

“Damn. Well, we don’t have time to teach you the finer points. So we’ll have to do it the easy way for now. Does your gun have a materia port?” He nodded at the weapon.

Barret blinked. It had been ages since he’d thought about it, but the craftsman he’d gone to all those years ago had indeed included one. Flipping his arm over, he pulled the panel open that revealed the slot. “Yeah, not that I’ ve ever used it.”

Cloud nodded. “Good.” And he slapped the small orb into the recessed port. “Aim for the joints, legs and tail when you can. That will slow it down.”

“What about you?” Barret felt the question leave his mouth before he could stop it.

The mercenary seemed to frown without moving a muscle. “I’ve got the hard job.” He turned out of cover to face the roboguard, and Barret was sure he heard him whisper. “Like always.” as he did.

For reasons Barret couldn’t think of the mercenary turned all the way around as he stood, getting a glimpse of the scorpion then turning his back to it as he gripped a second of the glowing marbles in his fist. Then the scorpion opened fire. Twin guns, not unlike Barret’s own, spat bullets at the Ex-Soldier. And promptly bounced off the sword that had returned to Cloud’s back. For three seconds bullets pounded the area around the merc, and when they stopped, he turned to face the bot.

Lighting leapt from Clouds raised fist, striking the thing and spreading across its metal plates, reaching inside through the wiring, to wreak havoc on the central processing nodes that controlled the scorpion.

Cursing under his breath, Barret realised that he’d been staring at the fight for too long, rather than be involved. Sitting up over his cover he aimed for the nearest leg joint and fired. Then he blinked. The stream of bullets had struck right where he intended them to, but instead of simply tearing into the metal, a rime of frost spread from each impact. And with more impacts more frost spread, until when he let up on the trigger, the joint was encased in ice.

“Oh, I’m gonna have fun with this.” He couldn’t help but comment to himself as he took aim at the next joint.

Nearby, Cloud had turned his back to the thing again, drawing in his focus to release another bolt of lightning, and once again, bullets tore through the air around him. Not for the first time, Cloud thanked the makers of his sword as he felt round after round bounce almost harmlessly off the blade. The plating on the roboguard was probably thicker than his sword, but it hadn’t been crafted from Mako imbued steel, and forged inside a reactor like the blade had.

Two more bolts, coupled with almost every joint being iced over by Barret’s gun, put the thing into repair mode. Which meant they could get the hell out of there. “Run.” Cloud yelled as he demonstrated his meaning.

The trip back out of the reactor, as one might expect, took far less time than the trip in. They got slowed up briefly when they came across Jesse, who had somehow gotten her foot stuck when some debris landed on her. Fortunately it hadn’t been terribly heavy and they’d gotten her loose easy enough.

They met back up with Biggs and Wedge near the exit. They’d been waiting of course, holding a hatch open that led to the tunnels under the city. Cloud was the last through, and he pulled the grate closed behind him just as the first explosion ripped the power plant open.

Biggs laughed jovially as they all gathered in the tunnel. “That should keep the planet going, at least a little longer.” He said loudly.

Beside him Wedge grinned wide. “Yeah. Sure will.” He agreed with his friend, clapping him on the back.

Cloud held in his sigh. Still with the unprofessional behavior. If they were going to get away without being caught, they needed to get moving, and stay quiet. But these people just didn’t seem to understand that.

Finally they did get moving, after a short round of back slapping and laughter from the amateurs. About a hundred meters down the tunnel though, they ran into a problem. The door that would take them back outside, allowing them to reach the train that would return them to the underside of the city, was blocked by fallen chunks of masonry. Fortunately, Jesse seemed to be prepared for this eventuality. She quickly set to work setting a smaller explosive charge around the door. “Okay everyone, get back.”

The explosion was thankfully minor, just enough to get the door open, and the team filed out quickly.

Then Barret decided to play amateur again, and Cloud had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from mouthing off to his employer. “Alright, now let’s get out of here!” The big man roared. “Rendezvous at Sector 8 station! Split up and get on the train.”

Deciding to take a chance, and maybe get away from these idiots before they got him killed Cloud approached the mountain of muscle. “Hey.”

Barret glanced down at the merc and saw in his eyes what the man wanted. For a brief moment he considered just paying the Ex-Soldier and being done with him. But then he remembered that he’d left all the money back at their hideout. Even if he wanted to, there was no way he could pay Cloud off right now. And besides, the merc had done well, and was clearly a better, more skilled fighter than anyone else in their group. If they could convince the guy to stick around, they’d be able to pull off jobs like this one more often. “If it’s about your money, wait till we get back.” He knew he sounded more stern than he’d intended to, but it couldn’t be helped. Nodding he took off on his chosen course, hoping everyone made it back in one piece. Being split up made it less likely that any of them would be identified, but it also meant that there was no back-up if anyone did get caught.

Cloud shook his head at the retreating form of the leader of Avalanche. Barret probably didn’t have the money on him anyway, and regardless it didn’t matter now. He’d just have to make his way to the train as agreed and wait to be paid when they got back to the Sector 7 slums.

Coming out of the alleyway they had arrived in, he ran into someone, and had to react fast to catch her so that neither of them fell. Then he blinked. The girl was beautiful. Long silky brown hair, held back in a braid that reached all the way to small of her back, leaving two thick curls that fell just past her shoulders. He knew it was soft, luxuriant even as his hand had gotten caught in it as he caught her.

She smiled as he helped her to steady herself, and it was as if the sun had come out for the first time in ages. Her whole face lit with that smile, and her bright green eyes twinkled in the firelight. The firelight, why was there fire, oh right. Explosion, reactor go boom. He shook his head, he needed to get out of here and catch a train. Not goggle at some pretty girl with a basket full of flowers.

Wait, flowers? How, why did she have a basket full of flowers? Before he could ponder that question the girl spoke. “Excuse me, what happened?” She asked, and her voice was just as beautiful as the rest of her. Soft and tinkling like a hundred bells sounding at once.

Cloud shook his head again. He was getting lost in this girl's eyes and that was not conducive to survival. “You’d better get out of here.” He told her, giving her a gentle push towards the next Sector, hoping she’d take the hint.

She didn’t seem to get it at first. “Really?” She asked, head tilting to one side in question. “I don’t know what's going on,” Cloud nearly groaned, this girl was going to be the end of him, somehow he just knew it, but then he heard the rest of her statement, “but all right.” She smiled one last time and turned to stroll quickly away.

Well, she wasn’t running, but at least she was leaving the area, and that was something at least. And it looked like she was heading towards a group of emergency services personnel, so she should be fine. Which meant he was clear to get away himself, now which way was the train station?

Finding the train station turned out to be the easy part. He wasn’t far from it, and after a few steps down the alley he recognised where he was. Unfortunately, he also ran into a bunch of Shinra’s security forces. And while they had no idea that he was with the group that had just blown up a Mako reactor, if they hauled him in for questioning, they’d find out real quick. He was sure to be saturated with enough raw Mako that they’d figure it out.

All of which together meant he had no choice but to fight his way out.. Fortunately these were still raw recruits, just out of training. Not the hardened veterans he’d served with, they went down easy under the heavy cuts from his sword. Not that he ever doubted his ability. However the distraction had taken long enough that he’d missed the train, and as more security began pouring into the alley, he made a calculated choice, and leapt onto the train as it pulled out of the station.

***

A freight car on a train is never a comfortable place to ride. Hard wood, or metal crates do not offer comfortable seating. However, when you are hiding from law enforcement, you take what you can get. They wouldn’t be able to stay here for the entire journey, the ID scanners would note their location and flag them for questioning. But for the first few kilometers it was the best place to be as the freight cars were never inspected, outside of loading and unloading.

Thus, that is where the team gathered. As the train began to move, they all looked around, wondering where the last of their number was, and why he hadn’t joined them. Wedge was the first to voice their fears, and for once his voice remained soft. “Cloud never came.”  
Biggs looked up from where he had been checking his pockets, making sure he hadn’t lost anything in the mad dash to reach the train before security caught up to them. “Cloud,” he said the name slowly, almost as though he were tasting it for the weather it brought to mind. “Think he was killed?” He didn’t like asking the question, but it was important that someone did, and no one else in the car looked like they were going to.

Barret thumped his good hand on a crate. “No way!” He bellowed. He didn’t want to admit that he was worried about the guy. He didn’t trust him, not completely, even if he had done his job without complaint. Barret knew his team wasn’t as professional as someone like Cloud would have been used to, but the Ex-Soldier never said anything about it. Just did his job, and did it well. Barret would never admit it, but the guy had started to grow on him.

In the corner of the car, Jessie pulled her knees closer to her chest. The mission had gone well, even if there had been more adrenaline then she was used to. And the new guy, she hadn’t had a chance to get to know him. Barret had only hired him the day before, and Jesse had only gotten a brief look at the lean figure before time to leave. But he’d been rather nice to look at, and she loved the strong, silent type. Cloud had done his job and barely said three words the entire time. She’d thought more than once about inviting him back to her room when they got back, but now it looked like that wouldn’t be possible. Through the muddled state of her thoughts, she didn’t even notice when his name fell from her lips in a whisper. “Cloud.”

Their attention was drawn up as something seemed to fall on the roof of the freight car, but when the sound failed to repeat they returned to their pondering on the fate of their missing ally.

After long moments of silence, Biggs asked a question that had been running through his mind ever since they had encountered the first guards at the reactor. Watching Cloud dance through them, cutting the mechanical contraptions to pieces as he went, had been awe inspiring. “Say, do you think Cloud’s going to stay on and fight for Avalanche?” He winked at Jesse as the words left his lips. He’d seen how the girl had been looking at the merc. He couldn’t argue the man was good looking. All lean, hard muscle, and even that spiky hair was kind of cool. And that frankly massive sword, he tried not to think of the possibility that the merc might be compensating with that thing.

Barret however seemed to have other things on his mind. He nearly screamed, sounding more and more frustrated as he spoke. “How the hell would I know? Do I look like a mind reader?” He slammed his meaty fist into the crate again, causing the entire car to rattle. “Hmph!! If y’all weren’t such screw-ups.” His last words were lower, less harsh, but they all felt the sting. They knew he didn’t really mean it, Barret tended to say things like that when he was upset or worried. And they knew that even with Cloud being new to the team, Barret always worried when something didn’t go exactly to plan. Which of course was almost every time they left the Sector 7 slums.

After a few moments of silence, Wedge decided it would be wise to change the subject, and asked the first question that came to mind. Unfortunately, it was not a particularly good question, especially considering, he already knew the answer. “Hey Barret, what about our money?” The response was just as he would have expected, had he thought things through a bit more before speaking. Barret growled, and narrowed his eyes at Wedge. “Uh, nothing, sorry.” The smaller man held up his hands in surrender, taking as much of a step back as the train car allowed.

As he did so, he wondered if he was going crazy. He hadn’t actually moved very far, not even enough to touch the wall, and it had only been a slow step. Yet as his foot touched the floor, there was a loud bang from behind him. It happened again, and a third time as he finally realised, someone was pounding on the door from the outside.

Biggs took a step towards the door, his gaze intent on the handle that would throw it open, but before he could take more than a half step, it was flung open from the outside. Wedge felt his gun come into his hands as someone flipped down from the roof of the car. For one terrible moment he saw his friends cut down in front of him, until who had just landed among them registered.

“Cloud!” Four voices cried in unison as the mercenary stood from the half crouch in which he’d landed.

As he stood, Cloud surveyed the room. It was small, a few crates lying about almost haphazardly, and the team scattered among the boxes, all staring at him as though he had grown an extra head while they had been parted. “Looks like I’m a little late.” He kept his voice dry, emotionless, just to impress upon them that he wasn’t going to be sticking around forever. Barret needed to know that he wouldn’t be staying if the pay wasn’t good. And given that he hadn’t been paid yet for the first job, he wasn’t entirely sure that it was.

Unaware of the thoughts racing through the mind of the mercenary, Barret stood up straight from where he’d been leaning on a crate. “You’re damn right you’re late!” He spoke loud, knowing that if he tried to sound angry it would be less apparent that he’d actually been worried. And even less that he was impressed with that entrance. “Come waltzin’ in here and make a big scene!”

Cloud couldn’t stop his eyebrow from rising. Barret thought that was a big scene. He clearly hadn’t seen some of the theatrical events Cloud had been to in the last few years. Not to mention seen any of the real fighting outside the city, where the big monsters roamed free. “It’s no big scene. Just what I always do.”

Barret blinked. The Ex-Soldier was showing off? Seriously, after putting them through all that, he was going to show off? “Fiddlefrump.” The expletive he and Marlene had worked out together so Tifa would stop yelling at him for his language in front of his daughter slipped out. “Havin’ everyone worried like that. You don’t give a damn ‘bout no one but yourself!” Covering the slip he chose to chew out Cloud for showing off.

For a moment Cloud wanted to ask about the strange word that had fallen from the giant man’s mouth, but then the rest of his statement caught up to him. And he decided to point out the obvious flaw in Barret’s plan to chew him out, maybe even try to convince him to accept a pay cut. “Hmm, you were worried about me?”

Barret nearly panicked. Cloud had seen right through him. How did he know that Barret had been worried? “Wha?” The almost word slipped out before Barret could bite down on it. He needed to get control back, before the merc managed to talk him into a bigger paycheck. “That’s comin’ outta your share hot shot!”

He watched for a moment, to see if Cloud would argue further. But he remained silent, at least for now. Smiling at the small victory, Barret turned to the rest of his team. “Wake up! We’re movin’ out. Follow me.” Without waiting to see if they would actually follow, he yanked open the connecting door and headed for the passenger cars.

Wedge slapped Cloud on the shoulder as he passed by, following behind the large man. “Hey Cloud, you were great back there!”

Biggs was only a step behind his best friend, though he chose to keep his hands to himself after seeing the scowl that Cloud had shot after the first two. “Heh heh Cloud!” He tried to laugh the tense moment off. “We’ll do even better next time.” He offered as he passed by.

Jessie was the last to approach, having taken her time getting to her feet. Which was entirely intentional. She wasn’t sure if she wanted Cloud to go first so she could watch his bum. Or if she wanted to be ahead of him, so she could draw his eyes to her own assets. Either way, she knew she wanted to deliver that invitation before someone beat her to it. But just like every time, in the moment, she lost her nerve. At the last second, instead of speaking to him, she turned towards the still open door, and pulled it closed. “Careful, I’ll shut this.” She felt so stupid as she turned. She could feel her face growing warm and in an effort to hide her embarrassment, she blurted out the first thought in her head. Too bad she’d just noticed something entirely silly. “Oh Cloud! Your face is pitch-black.” Pulling a pack of wipes from a pocket she leaned up and began to rub at the sooty stains on his cheeks. Then she realised what she was doing and stopped. Instead she offered him the pack. Nodding he took one and wiped at his face, cleaning it. “There you go.” She tried to smile, but it felt forced. She could still feel heat in her cheeks and tried to shift his attention away from her face. “Say, thanks for helping me back there at the reactor.” She waved her hands in a nonsense gesture to draw his eyes.

And then the thought of his hands as they lifted that heavy beam flooded her mental landscape. Then in her mind’s eye she saw that scene shift, and instead of the reactor, falling apart around them, it became a bedroom. Soft silk sheets, and those hands running along her spine. She fled as the heat from her cheeks began to sink lower.

Shaking his head in confusion, Cloud followed along behind the others, pondering what sort of mess he was dealing with. And how long it would take for him to dig himself out this time if things went wrong.

As he stepped through the door, an announcement sounded through the passenger car. “Last train out of Sector 8 station Last stop is Sector 7, Train Graveyard. Expected time of arrival is 12:23am Midgar Standard Time.” The voice was a bit mechanical, as all timed announcements tend to be.

Ignoring the few passengers that remained in the car after Barret rolled through, Cloud found a seat near the back and relaxed. It would be a while before they arrived, and as every properly trained soldier knows, taking rest when you can is the best way to stay alive on the battlefield.

The quiet that Cloud was enjoying was unfortunately broken when someone plopped down next to him. Opening his eyes he saw that it was Jesse. She held out a datapad which was currently showing a map of the train system. “Have a look.” She said, pointing to the map. “I like this kinda stuff, bombs and monitors.” She winked. “You know, flashy stuff.” As she started to explain what she was looking at, Cloud managed to partially zone out. She wasn’t saying anything he didn’t already know anyway. Like that the city of Midgar consists of two layers, the top plate being about 50 meters above ground, while the second layer was on the ground itself, and consisted of the slums, and a huge variety of scrap heaps. “A Main Pillar supports the plate in the center, surrounded by other support pillars in each section.” Her voice filtered through his thoughts. Technically he knew about the support pillars, everyone did. Those were pretty obvious. But the mention of them brought to mind what he knew about just how fragile they were.

A slap to his arm brought him back to full awareness. “Hey, are you listening to me?” Jesse huffed, glaring at the former Soldier. When she was sure he was paying attention she pointed to a different section of the map. “The number 1 reactor we blew up is in the northern section, then there’s the number 2, number 3, and so on following a clockwise pattern up to number 8.” She tapped different parts of the map as she spoke, highlighting the 8 reactors that powered Midgar. “The 8 reactors provide Midgar with electricity.” 

That was a pointless explanation, the thought flitted through Clouds head as he tried to look interested.

“Each sector used to have its own name but no one remembers them anymore,” she just keeps going, “instead of names they are referred to by numbered sector.” She paused to shake her head at the loss of names for what were essentially small communities within a large city. Communities that appeared decades after the city itself had been built.

Briefly, Cloud thought about interrupting, saying something, anything really to make the flood of useless information stop. But before he could decide on what to say, she was speaking again. “Look what’s next, look! This is the route this train is on. It spirals around the main pillar.” A line of dots appeared on her map, showing the tracks. Which was one of the things that made everyone’s idea that there were two levels of Midgar unimaginably ignorant. There were actually four levels, five if you counted the service tunnels as their own level instead of as part of the engineering level like Shinra did. 

“We should be coming around the center now.” Jesse’s voice once again drove the thoughts back in Cloud’s mind. “Each checkpoint has an ID sensor device, which checks the ID’s of each passenger on the train. We’re using fake ID’s since our real ones have been flagged. Speak of the devil.” A red light began flashing in the car. As it became difficult to see in the train car, Cloud felt the slender girl press herself against him. “You never know what kind of creeps will come out when the lights go out.” She whispered, leaning close to his ear. “ I’ve been grabbed a few times, and not in the nice, Shinra security here to drag you off for an interrogation way.” He felt her hands slip around his bicep and he wondered if he was supposed to enjoy the feeling, or if he was the one being harassed in this scenario.

As the lights came back up to full, Barret called over. “Look, you can see the surface now.” He waved for Cloud to join him. Between wanting to get away from the clingy tech obsessed girl, and not wanting to annoy the man who still held his pay, any more than he already had at any rate, the mercenary chose to oblige the man. When he stood next to Barret though, it turned out the big man also wanted to share information that Cloud already knew. “This city don’t have no day or night. If that plate weren’t there we could see the sky.”

In the interest of not annoying the man, Cloud decided to act like this was new. If he played this right he should be able to get paid as soon as they were back. So he replied in what he hoped sounded like a typical tourist. “A floating city, pretty unsettling scenery.”

Barret blinked. “Huh, never expected to hear that outta someone like you. You jus’ full of surprises.” It had been something he’d heard from many visitors to the slums over the years. Most of them just passing through, heading topside for some event or other. Though every once in a while he’d hear it from someone who was down enough on their luck that they were actually looking for a place to live, even if it was in the slums. “The upper world, a city on a plate. It’s cause of that f*ing pizza that people underneath are sufferin’!” The old rant came easily, and he let it. Simpler to stick to things he knew, even if it bothered some people that he rarely spoke of much else, other than Marlene. “And the city below is full of polluted air. On top’a that, the reactor keeps drainin’ up all the energy.”

Cloud nodded along. He hadn’t heard that particular argument before, but he could guess where it was going. Better to head it off in a different direction before the man could really get going. Maybe lead him somewhere Cloud was familiar with, just so he could pay slightly less attention to the talk, and more to the scenery outside. “Then why doesn’t everyone move onto the Plate?” The question was simple, innocuous enough, and was sure to bring on a rant about the differences in resources between the rich and the poor.

It did not have the desired result however. Barret either didn’t go in for that type of rhetoric, or was actually so focused on the planet that he ignored the other problems. “Dunno, probably ‘cuz they ain’t got no money, or maybe, cuz they love their land no matter how polluted it gets.” The buzz cut sort of distracted from the glare Barret shot at him, but Cloud was never one to ignore a good glare for long.

And besides, that comment deserved an answer. Cloud knew he wasn’t overly interested in much. Especially now, no prospects, no plans, nothing to tie him anywhere. But he would never deny someone their passion, even if it didn’t interest him personally. “I know, no lives in the slums because they want to.” Wasn’t that the truth, if he’d had a choice he’d be far away from Midgar, there was hardly anything about this city that interested him. “It’s like this train, it can’t run anywhere except where its rails take it.” And that was the root of the problem. Not being a train, Cloud could get off the rails, or even just switch to a different track. But he had no idea how. That was really part of why he’d taken this job. The hope that these people would show him something he was missing, a way to change directions.

The ride once more fell silent. Barret eventually returned to his seat, and Jesse was drawn into a conversation with Biggs and Wedge. Which at last left Cloud free to relax. But Barret had done what nothing else this day had really managed. He’d gotten Cloud thinking. And so the Ex-Soldier, mercenary extraordinaire stood by the window, staring out at the bleak landscape of the Midgar undercity slums. Contemplating where he wanted his life to go next.


	2. Seventh Heaven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, that seriously took a lot longer to finish than I expected. I may change up how I'm doing this. Instead of getting enough down to finish the next chapter and then taking a few days to actually write said chapter, I might actually just sit down and play until I have all of it put together in bullet points, so then I can just write until its done.
> 
> In the mean time, enjoy the second chapter.

When at last they arrived at the Sector 7 station, Barret leapt from the train and began barking orders like this was some kind of war vid. “Hey all a y’all, get over here. This mission was a success. But don’t get lazy now. The hard part’s still to come!” He gestured wildly, completely ignoring the security personnel watching the extravagant display. “Don’t y’all be scared of that explosion! Cause the next one’s gonna be bigger than that! Meet back at the hideout! Move out!”

As the Avalanche team jogged up the road towards the official sector 7 slum town, Cloud glanced around at the train conductor, who had also been watching. For a brief moment, he considered killing the man, just to be sure he couldn't tell anyone. But it wouldn’t make a lot of difference. And he’d have to kill the security as well. Besides, there were plenty of cameras in the area, and the death’s would bring an investigation down here anyway.

Shrugging he turned towards the town. Once he got paid he’d be moving on anyway. All he needed was a bit of gil and he could leave Midgar entirely. See what the rest of the world had to offer.

As he strode past the last of the debris hiding the slums from view, there was a commotion ahead. One of the larger buildings, which looked subtly newer than the others, had a stream of people leaving it. The bar, for that was clearly what it was, had a large sign over the door which read Seventh Heaven. The front was dominated by an oversized deck, with a few tables scattered around. There was a thin awning of corrugated tin over the porch, which got a short head shake from Cloud. There was no sun down here to protect customers from, and thanks to the plate above, even rain wouldn’t fall here.

As he contemplated the building and it’s slight oddity, the stream of people leaving came to an end with Barret the last out the door. He stood at the top of the short stairs to the deck, glaring around. When he saw Cloud he gave a quick wave for the mercenary to join him. “Head on inside, meetin’ will be startin’ real soon.” He said as Cloud approached.

Inside the bar was small, only two tables took up the space, and three seats at the bar itself. The wooden flooring was dilapidated, clearly scrounged, and having seen better days. Water damage was plentiful. Yet despite the aged feel everything had, the place seemed warm, inviting even, and well cared for, as though the owners had gone out of their way to make the place as clean as it was possible for anything to be in the slums.

Behind the bar stood a young woman, about Cloud’s age. She looked familiar. The stark white shirt, over a short black skirt, pulled attention from her face, and he had to fight to keep his eyes from straying to her impressive chest. As he did so, he recognized what made the woman familiar. Tifa Lockhart, she’d grown up a mere two doors down from him in Nibelheim. The team had mentioned that a Tifa worked with them, but he hadn’t thought it would be the only Tifa he knew personally.

Before his surprise could convince him to do something foolish, like blurt out her name, a little girl ran out from behind the bar. She was cute in that, no longer a toddler, not yet a teen kind of way. And dressed in an adorable pink dress. She ran forward yelling at the top of her voice. “Daddy!” With her little arms stretched up high in the universal child’s request to be picked up.

Cloud blinked, taking a half step back at the sudden movement, but before he could do more the child saw him and stopped. “Ah!” She let out a little half scream and turned to run back behind the bar and into Tifa’s arms.

After a minute of comforting, Tifa convinced the girl to sit back down and wait for her father to arrive before turning her attention back to Cloud. “Welcome home Cloud. Looks like everything went well.” She smiled as she spoke, and Cloud was reminded of the many times he had seen that same smile as they were growing up. Though he had never seen it directed at himself before. “Did you fight with Barret?” The odd question pulled him out of a memory of a much younger Tifa laughing with other children as Cloud was left out of their fun.

He shook his head, the spiky yellow hair almost moving as he did so. “Not this time.” He answered, guessing that she had been told of the near argument they’d had over how much he would be paid for the job when they first met.

Tifa grinned. “You’ve grown up.” She said with a conspiratorial look that confused Cloud. “When you were little you used to get into fights at the drop of a hat.” As she continued she got a wistful look as her attention retreated inward, gazing at a memory of Cloud didn’t know what. Any of a hundred scenes from their childhood could fit the bill. She was right of course, Cloud used to get into fights all the time. Not that it was ever his fault. After his father had been killed he was constantly picked on by the other boys. They tried to tell him that he must be a lesser person if his dad couldn’t come home from the war like theirs had. “I’m so glad everyone’s safe.” Once more Tifa pulled him back from memories, her smile returned as she waited for him to say something.

He was prevented from responding though as Biggs called over, holding a large glass high as he spoke. “Nothin’ like that first drink after a job. Cloud, why don’t you have one too.”

Cloud blinked. That was an odd offer to make, though under the circumstances he could understand it. It was fairly common in the Shinra military for any of the soldiers to share drinks. It was a way to build camaraderie. Guess it shouldn’t be surprising that the same is true in other fields. And they had just survived a mission and outrun an explosion together. They may not be a team tomorrow, but for today, they were. With that in mind, he nodded. “Yeah, why not.”

Biggs’ smile grew broad “Oh! That’s more like it!” He called, holding his glass a little higher. And reaching out with his free hand to slap Cloud on the back. He stumbled a little as he took a step closer. “Even if you were with Soldier, you’re still a rookie here. So you’d better listen to whatever I tell ya!” Cloud blinked, the man was already drunk? They hadn’t even been here ten minutes, he couldn’t have had time to put more than a single glass down his neck, let alone enough to be inebriated. Maybe he just doesn’t usually drink much?

Wedge interrupted Cloud’s thinking, waving the blonde mercenary over to their table. “Hey Cloud!” He pointed to a plate piled high with roast beef, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli. “Tifa really knows how to cook.” He explained to the merc, then leaned towards him and whispered. “Anyway, let me tell ya somethin’.”

Cloud folded his arms, unsure of what the man might want to impart, but admitted to himself that he was at least curious. “About what?” He asked after a moment’s hesitation.

Wedge pointed back to the plate. “Tifa always lets me taste her cooking. And look at me now, I’m roly-poly.” He leaned back in his seat and patted his rounded belly. “Don’t know whether I should be happy or sad. But it’s the good food and drinks that make this shop famous.” He added a flourish of his fork and a wave around the bar to emphasise his point.

As he did so, a bit of potato flew off the end of his fork, landing on Jesse’s shoulder. The red head turned to glare at the offending mash, then up at the young man who had caused the mess. “Hey Wedge, you’re getting all excited.” She added a strong glare to make her point clear. “Stop making such a mess.”

Cloud considered saying something, before deciding that it would be more interesting to see how this argument played out. However before they could say another word, the door burst open and Barret’s mountainous form barrelled inside as though he were being chased.

Worried that they may have been sniffed out by Shinra security already, Cloud glanced out the door as Barret began exchanging greetings. Nothing looked out of place and Cloud scowled. Was it the man being unprofessional yet again, or was there something he was missing?

“Papa, welcome home!” A small voice cried behind him, catching Cloud’s attention.

“Marlene!” The big man’s answering boom only just registered as Cloud turned.

The little girl in the pink dress rushed forward and into Barret’s arms. She was promptly lifted to the man’s shoulder where she perched as though this were an everyday occurrence. Which given how comfortable the man looked, it probably was.

Then Cloud blinked. A glance around told him this was in fact a normal scene as none of the others had reacted at all to the greeting. Yet there was a definite incongruity. Where Barret’s skin was a deep, dusky black, Marlene’s was quite pale. There was no way these two could be father and daughter, and yet it was very clear that is exactly what they were. Shaking his head, Cloud tore the incongruity from his thoughts. It wasn’t any of his business either way, and he wasn’t planning on sticking around long enough for it to matter anyway.

“You alright Barret?” Tifa was asking when Cloud brought his attention back to the scene in front of him.

“Great!” The big man answered in a booming, cheerful voice that seemed likely to set the building to rattling. “Get in here fools! We’re starting the meetin’!” The non-sequitor made little sense until Cloud noted that he had turned his head slightly so that he was addressing the team sat at the table. Without another word he walked over to a pinball machine tucked into a corner of the bar, and reached under the front of it. A moment later there was a whirring of machinery and the entire game sank into the floor, carrying Barret along with it. A few moments later the game rose back into place and Cloud noted that even knowing there was a hidden elevator there, he couldn’t tell where the seams in the floor were. As he attempted to guess at where the mechanism had been hidden, Biggs, Wedge, and Jesse strolled over and took the lift down as well. Jesse lounging on top of the machine in what might be considered a seductive pose, had she not been turning green.

Tifa however reached out and took hold of Cloud’s hand, pulling him towards the bar. “How about something to drink?” She asked as she guided him to a stool.

Cloud shook his head at the action, then smirked. “Give me something hard.”

Now behind the bar the dark haired beauty grinned. “Just a minute. I’ll make one for you.” she offered then poured three different liquids into a mixer and shook it vigorously. “You know, I’m relieved you made it back safely.” She commented as she poured the mixture into a glass.

The drink was strong, no hint of sweetness to dampen the bite of the alcohol. Just the way Cloud preferred. Of course the downside of a drink like that, it always loosened his tongue a bit. “What’s with you all of a sudden?” He asked, trying not to glare at the girl. “That job wasn’t even tough.” He added as an afterthought, finishing off the drink. He never could understand why some people wanted to talk about everything, and gush over simple matters.

A frown appeared on the girl’s soft features. “I guess not” She said with a small sigh. “You were in Soldier.” She added a moment later, glancing at the empty glass. She’d made the strongest drink she knew how and he hadn’t even pursed his lips over it. And she knew that one was a tough one to swallow. Maybe he just wasn’t like any of the other people she knew. Barret went out and fought almost daily but he was never this sour with people. Thinking of Barret though reminded her, and with a bitter feeling inside she realised this might be the last time she’d ever get to talk with someone from her hometown. “Make sure you get your pay from Barret.”

Cloud blinked, that seemed like an odd thing to say at that moment. She was right though, that was the most important thing on his mind right now. “Don’t worry, once I get that money, I’m outta here.” He said as he turned. As he was looking towards the pinball machine that was guarding the entrance to the hideout, he missed the sad look that briefly crossed Tifa’s face.

Not ready to let it go entirely Tifa spoke again, one hand rising towards the man who used to be a boy she knew. “Cloud, are you feeling alright?”

Cloud shrugged, refusing to acknowledge the hand he’d placed on a stool to steady himself. “Yeah, why?” He asked, head only turning towards her a bare amount to indicate he was answering her question.

Her dark hair swished as she shook her head in response, then realised he wasn’t actually looking at her. “No reason. You just look a little tired I guess.” She finally commented, then motioned to the elevator. “You’d better go down below.”

***

The elevator carried Cloud down into a small room. It was maybe half the size of the bar above, barely big enough for all six of the people sharing it. The space was dominated by a large table covered with maps, it was pushed up close to a long couch that wrapped around one corner of the room. Biggs and Wedge sat in the corner space looking over one of the maps. Directly to the side of the elevator, Jesse sat in front of a computer, staring at designs for another bomb, and beside her a large screen television took up the wall opposite the elevator. The little girl in the pink dress, Marlene was perched on a pile of crates next to the television, cheering as Barret swung his one good arm repeatedly into a heavy punching bag in the corner opposite Bigs and Wedge.

Trying not to show his feelings about the tiny space, Cloud took a step forward. Instantly Marlene waved her arms about and made a worried sound, which got Barret’s attention. The large man turned to face the intruder and grunted. “Yo Cloud. There’s somethin’ I wanna ask ya.” He said in an almost calm voice. “Was there anyone from Soldier fighting us today?”

The spiky yellow hair looked almost like horns as Cloud’s head tilted to one side. The question was honest enough, if a little silly. “None. I’m positive.”

A meaty fist swung making a satisfying thunk as it struck the heavy bag. “You sound pretty sure.”

Cloud chuckled once. “If there was anyone from Soldier, you wouldn’t be standing here now.” He had to fight to keep the smirk off his face. These amateurs actually thought they could fight against real soldiers. They’d only ever fought raw recruits, fresh from training. Not the real veterans that Cloud had stood with.

Barret scowled, he saw the look in the merc’s eye before he schooled his features. “Don’t go thinkin’ you so bad jus’ cuz you was in Soldier.” He growled it out, going for intimidating. Taking a step towards Cloud, he made a surreptitious motion to the two men at the table then put a look of murder in his eyes. This was a tactic they’d used before, and it had always worked wonders to get punks to back off. Biggs shot to his feet and rushed over, grabbing hold of his leader’s arm. “Yeah, you’re strong.” Now Barret could really let his anger fill his voice. With Biggs holding him back he could put on a good show. “Probably all them guys in Soldier are. But don’t forget that your skinny ass’s is working for Avalanche now! Don’t get no ideas ‘bout hangin’ onto Shinra.”

Cloud’s head tilted a little further as the show played out. And he was sure it was a show, he could see Wedge holding in giggles from the corner of his eye, and behind him Jesse wasn’t even trying to hold back, just keeping it quiet, though not quiet enough. The comment almost threw him, he’d left Shinra because they were monsters. What they’d done to him and his friends was unspeakable. “Stayin’ with Shinra?” He cocked an eyebrow, slowly making the question as evident as possible. “You asked me a question and I answered it. That’s all.” Then he smirked, deciding he’d pay the man back for his intimidation attempt. He took a step forward and leaned in almost touching the tip of his nose to Barret’s, and spoke, keeping his voice low and soft. “I’m going upstairs. I want to talk about my money.”

***

When the elevator stopped back in the bar, Cloud glanced around, debating what to do while he waited for Barret. With a little luck the Avalanche leader wouldn’t keep him waiting long. But then again, he didn’t seem the kind of person to let things go quickly, and might make Cloud wait out of spite. Eventually he decided to sit at one of the tables, maybe order something to eat.

He’d barely taken two steps though when a voice made him halt. Tifa stepped out from behind the bar, rushing towards him. “Wait, Cloud.” She called, her voice thready and rough.

Cloud turned to respond, but his voice caught in his throat as he realised he had no idea what to say. He could reassure her that he wasn’t leaving, at least not yet. But that would be sort of cruel, as he planned to leave as soon as he had his pay from Barret. Fortunately, he was interrupted before he could say anything, by the pinball machine sinking into the floor again.

When it returned Barret was standing there glaring at the two of them. Cloud almost moved to protect the girl, it may have been a long time, but he’d crushed on her once, and those old feelings stirred with her so close. “Tifa! Let him go!” Barret’s booming voice bounced around the room, a perfect addition to his glare “Looks like he still misses the Shinra!”

And with those words, Barret had finally found Cloud’s breaking point. “Shut up!” The merc shouted. He wanted to rage, to scream about the treatment he’d had at the hands of the Shinra executives, but that would be too much. And besides this giant who was more muscle than brain wouldn’t understand anyway. No one ever did, so he defaulted to the most basic of statements he’d made about them in the last few years. “I don’t care about Shinra or Soldier!” Knowing he would need to get out of there before he did something violent, he headed for the door. He wouldn’t leave for long, just a couple of minutes to cool off. His anger was too close, too ready to lash out as it was. “But don’t get me wrong! I don’t care about Avalanche either or the Planet for that matter!” He threw this last over his shoulder, one hand already on the door.

Tifa watched as the one connection she had to her hometown readied himself to walk out of her life, again, and probably forever this time. For less than a blink of an eye she considered letting him go. He had grown up to be very different from the boy she remembered, apart from the fighting. But in the end, that connection was more important to her than anything else. With a small gasp she leapt forward, grabbing his arm, spinning him about to face her. “Listen Cloud.” She had no argument to persuade him, nothing to offer except whatever tenuous connection she could provide to their shared past, so she tried to pour as much of that want for home into her face as she could as she stared into his glowing, Mako green eyes. “I’m asking you. Please join us.”

Cloud blinked. It was almost as if she were coming on to him. But she did it wrong, he’d been around enough prostitutes to know the tricks. She should have thrust her hip out just a little more. Put a little pout in her lips, or bite one. Instead, he thought, she was just trying to look earnest. Which in a way was actually more effective, since she didn’t look like she was trying to get something out of him. She looked like she was trying to offer him something, but he couldn’t guess at what. He gently took her hand from his arm. “Sorry Tifa.”

For a moment she saw it, the hunger, the need for connection. But it vanished before she could think of a way to feed it, to hold onto it. And then it was gone, replaced with cold indifference. And Tifa got angry. Jerking her hand from his she slapped at his chest. “The Planet is dying.” Slap. “Slowly, but surely, it’s dying.” Slap. “Someone has to do something.” The last slap landed almost gently as a tear snaked down her cheek. She hadn’t realised just how deep that pain went, to think of everything she’d ever cared about just being flushed away by Shinra’s greed.

But Cloud seemed to be unmoved when he answered. “So let Barret and his buddies do something about it.” He shook his head. A few moments ago he had nearly stepped in front of a gun for this girl. Almost literally, it wasn’t like Barret was actually pointing the thing at her, but he did have an enormous gun instead of a right arm. Now he was about to walk away from her, probably forever, and it had nothing to do with her. These people wanted him to continue fighting, the very thing he’d gotten out of Soldier to avoid, and they weren’t even offering him respect, or pay to do it. They thought he should just throw his life even further down the drain because they asked. Even Tifa seemed to be offering little more than a smile and a few drinks, which at the end of the day, really wasn’t much. So he shook his head. “It’s got nothin’ to do with me.”

Tifa wilted. “So! You’re really leaving?” For a moment, for one shining moment, she had hoped that maybe she could get through to him. That whatever Shinra had done, had still left his soul intact. “You’re just going to walk right out ignoring your childhood friend?” It came to her in a flash, a way to be sure. If he truly was gone forever, this would tell her. And if he wasn’t, then this would convince him to stay.

Cloud was confused. She thought he was ignoring her? Sure he was the one leaving, but couldn’t she tell that she was asking him to do the very thing that he wanted to stop doing? “What? How can you say that?” He blurted it out, not wanting to get into the vast argument over who was ignoring who’s needs.

Tifa had to fight to keep the grin off her face, oh she had him now. And all it was going to take was just a little push. “You forgot the promise too?”

Confusion shone somehow in the Mako glow of his eyes. “Promise?” The word slipped out, almost as though he had wanted to bite it back.

“So you did forget.” She hadn’t counted on that, she’d need to remind him. “Remember Cloud, it was seven years ago.”

***

The ancient water tower stood out starkly against the night sky. Cloud had never bothered to ask how long it had been there. It simply was, like part of the frozen lands that surrounded the small mountain village of Nibelheim. Despite the rusted metal of it’s bowl, and the rough, slightly rotted timber of its frame, it had stood tall and proud in the center of the village for at least as long as he could recall.

And tonight, tonight was very special. He’d invited Tifa to sit with him at the tower. It was almost a rite of passage in the village. To sit together, under the stars, with your sweetheart. Not that Tifa had ever been Cloud’s sweetheart. She was just the only girl in the village that Cloud had ever noticed, and he wanted to share his news with someone before it was too late.

He’d just begun to think that she wasn’t coming when a soft voice called from the top of the ladder. “Sorry I’m late.” It was her, and she was beautiful. She’d pinned her hair back so that it framed her face, and chosen a dress that set off her eyes. And best of all, she was smiling. There was something about Tifa’s smile that could make even the most boring of town meetings seem grand. “You said you wanted to talk to me about something?” She pulled him out of his musings.

Cloud had gulped. He had something very important to tell her, but at that moment all thoughts had fled from his mind. Everything except her beauty, and he’d had to take a few deep breaths to get his thoughts back together. While he was doing so, she’d come and sat next to him, shuffling close as she did, so that she had been tucked against his side. He never had been quite clear on why, but that seemed to loosen his tongue and allow him to speak. “Come this spring, I’m leaving town for Midgar.” He’d meant to say it calmly, even to explain his reasons, but it had just blurted out of his mouth.

Maybe if he’d spent more time talking with the other kids, and less running around the hills fighting anything that would stand up to him. Maybe then he’d have been able to say it differently, but he was who was, and that would likely never change.

Tifa had spoken softly in reply, a comment which at the time had confused him. “All the boys are leaving town.” Thinking back on it, it was probably rather sad for her. She didn’t want to fight, and so would never join the army. She wanted to cook, he knew that about her. She’d been working in the village pub, for a few months at that point and loved it. She had been learning from her parents, her mom had taken care of the business, while her dad had been a renowned chef. She wanted to make a life for herself, but everyone with whom she could was leaving.

Years ago though, when Cloud was still young, still unaware of what had been happening in the rest of the world, he didn’t know things like that. He only knew his own ambitions. “But I’m different from them.” He’d told her. “I’m not just going to find a job.” He stood up, it had seemed like the thing to do. He’d wanted to be dramatic, to feel larger than life for once. “I want to join Soldier.” It had seemed like a good idea at the time. A way to prove he wasn’t like his father, not a quitter. He’d been such a foolish child. “I’m going to be the best there is, just like Sephiroth.”

Tifa had just stared at him for a long moment. He thought she was going to laugh at him, just like all the boys did every chance they got. “Sephiroth, The Great Sephiroth?” Her voice was incredulous, but it carried a note of acceptance. Like she believed he could do it, even if she didn’t really want him to. He hadn’t known then how to handle that, so he’d just ignored it. Instead he tried to get dramatic again, climbed up to the very top of the tower. He nearly fell when she continued the thought as he was climbing. “Isn’t it hard to join Soldier?”

But by then, Cloud had been lost in his thoughts again. “I probably won’t be able to come back to this town for a while.” He had wanted to say more, but the words caught in his throat as he heard a muffled sobbing. Tifa was holding her head in her hands, weeping. “Huh?” Not sure what to do, he’d slid back down to the platform to sit next to her. Unconsciously he’d slipped an arm over her shoulders as he did, pulling her close so she could rest her head on his shoulder if she wanted.

It had turned out though that she had been after something else. And from so close he could hear her whisper into his ear. “If you make it, will you be in the newspapers?”

“I’ll try.” It was the only answer he could think to give. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to be in the papers. Or even to be famous, anywhere outside of his hometown that is.

“Hey, let’s make a promise.” She smiled up at him, still snuggled against his side. He couldn’t imagine what she might mean, but in that moment he had thought he couldn’t have denied her anything. He might even have cut his own leg off if she’d asked. “Umm, if you get really famous and I’m ever in a bind. You’ll come save me, alright?”

“What?” It had been such an odd thing to say that it had thrown him off. He could understand of course why someone would want that, even if it wasn’t something he’d ever dreamed of for himself.

She launched into an explanation quickly though, and he listened closely, trying to figure out what exactly she wanted. “If I’m ever in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me.” She said it matter of factly, but there was an edge to her voice, a tone of uncertainty. Like she wasn’t sure if he’d even want to be her hero. “I want to experience that, at least once.” He could tell she had tried to keep the pleading out of her voice at the end. She hadn’t wanted him to know just how much she had wanted to be rescued, though from what he couldn’t tell.

“What?” The word came out dry. He didn’t know how to react, so he barely reacted at all.

If Tifa noticed his confusion she made no hint of it. Instead she reached over, grabbing his arm with both hands. “Come on! Promise me!” She practically begged, pulling on his arm with each word.

He tried to resist, he really did, but after only a few moments he blurted out. “Alright, I promise” He doubted he’d ever see her again anyway, at least before he came home after his service term was up. And he wasn’t sure what he would do after that.

***

Blinking the memory out of focus, Cloud glared at the girl in front of him. That had been a long time ago, when they were both still kids.

But Tifa was unfettered. “You remember now, don’t you? Our promise?” She said it as though it were the most important thing she could ever say to anyone.

Cloud simply shook his head, even leaving out the fact that they had been kids then, circumstances had changed, quite a bit really. “I’m not a hero, and I’m not famous. So I can’t keep our promise.”

A frown marred Tifa’s face as she considered his answer. “But you got your childhood dream, didn’t you? You joined Soldier.” she took a step back, raising her hands in a pleading gesture, and Cloud was reminded again of that night. “So come on! You’ve got to keep your promise.” He began to shake his head, but he was cut off as Barret came around the bar, holding his fist high.

“Wait a sec big-time Soldier!” The large man called, shaking his fist. “A promise is a promise! Here!” And he swung, Cloud almost didn’t recognise that he had been holding a bag in his hand. It now sailed through the air, and Cloud caught it with a deft twist. Checking the contents he saw that it was his pay. Fifteen hundred gil, as agreed upon.

Staring down at the money, Cloud considered his options. Fifteen hundred was good, it would be enough to buy him a pass out of the city. But then he’d have to walk to wherever he wanted to go, and he hadn’t even begun thinking about where he wanted to go yet. Maybe sticking around wasn’t such a bad idea after all, and as Barret said. A promise is a promise. Looking up he smirked at Tifa. “This is my pay? Don’t make me laugh.”

The girl went pale, then for a just a blink she looked angry, then comprehension began to fill her eyes. “What? Then you’ll…?”

Cloud cut her off, not wanting to discuss it right now. Besides there were more important things to think about, like where was he going to go after leaving Midgar? “You got the next mission lined up? I’ll do it for 3000.” This was directed towards Barret.

“What?” The big man did surprised just as well as he did angry. All overblown reaction and yelling. It almost made Cloud smile as he realised he would almost always be able to predict the man’s reactions to anything.

While he had been pondering Barret’s reaction, Tifa was moving, she rushed to the big man’s side and started to stage whisper in a soothing voice. “It's okay, it's okay. We’re really hurting for help right?”

And for the first time in Cloud’s experience, not that he had a lot where Barret was concerned, Barret spoke in a low voice that still carried to every corner of the bar. “That money’s for Marlene’s schoolin’.” Then he looked up at Cloud and his voice returned to it’s usual booming volume. “2000!”

The merc opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted as Tifa lay a hand on his arm. “Thanks Cloud.” She said with a little wink, and while Cloud was busy trying to figure out what she meant by it, Barret vanished. So much for arguing, and if he brought it up again, it would seem a bit unprofessional, not to mention rude. And he’d always intended to haggle anyway.


End file.
